Oregano-Garlic Chicken With Big Croutons

Updated June 9, 2025

Oregano-Garlic Chicken With Big Croutons
Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(95)
Comments
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Tender, crispy chicken and big hand-torn chunks of toasty bread are the main elements here for this laid-back sheet-pan dinner. To make sure the chicken is thoroughly flavorful, a quick sauce of warm garlic oil, vinegar and oregano is spooned over. The croutons also become saturated in the sauce, creating a double texture of crunchy and chewy. Golden raisins offer little surprise bursts of sweetness and tang, too. When you’re choosing bread for this, something hearty with an open and airy crumb works well. Try ciabatta, Pugliese, a rustic sourdough loaf or even a baguette. Enjoy the croutons however you like – with your hands, a fork, or straight from the baking sheet. A sprightly salad or roasted zucchini would round this meal out nicely.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 4bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks (about 2¼ pounds)
  • Salt and pepper 
  • cup olive oil, plus more for coating the chicken and for drizzling 
  • 1(1-pound) loaf hearty bread (such as ciabatta, Pugliese or sourdough)
  • 6garlic cloves
  • cup golden raisins
  • cup chicken stock 
  • 2tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice
  • ¼cup fresh oregano leaves
  • Flaky salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

927 calories; 53 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 26 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1011 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    On a sheet pan, pat the chicken dry, season it all over with salt and pepper and rub with enough olive oil to coat each piece thoroughly. Arrange the pieces so they are spaced evenly in the pan with the thighs skin-side down. Roast for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, tear the bread into large (about 2-inch) chunks.

  3. Step 3

    When the chicken has roasted for 15 minutes, flip the chicken pieces over (use a thin metal fish spatula to help loosen them if they stick) and nestle the bread chunks in between and around the chicken. Drizzle some olive oil over the bread. Roast until chicken is cooked through and the bread chunks are crisp and lightly golden on the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, slice the garlic thinly, then add to a small pot with ⅓ cup olive oil, the raisins and a big pinch of salt. Heat over medium-low and once the garlic starts to sizzle, turn off the heat.

  5. Step 5

    When ready to serve, add the stock to the garlic oil, bring to a simmer and turn off the heat. Season with black pepper, then stir in the vinegar and most of the oregano leaves — the consistency will be like a vinaigrette. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and croutons. Sprinkle with some flaky salt and the remaining oregano leaves.

Ratings

5 out of 5
95 user ratings
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Comments

From the North American Olive Oil Association: https://www.aboutoliveoil.org/can-i-cook-with-olive-oil-at-temperatures-beyond-its-smoke-point

Loved it! Great way to use up a semi-dried out sourdough loaf. Didn’t have the raisins but still came out five stars for our family - and toddler approved!

@Richard X Thank you so much for sharing this article about olive oil. It’s always great to learn something new.

I thought this was a great and easy meal to pull together - especially with all my leftovers. I did include many substitutions, instead of torn stale good bread, I used up my high end croutons which I wanted to use up. And instead of golden/sultana raisins, I used 1/3 C of chopped up honeycrisp apple. My final substitute was herbes de Provence. I really love how flexible this recipe is and I will definitely follow this recipe next time as a comparison.

Served this at a party and friends took leftovers home. I brined the chicken in salted water earlier in the day to assure it would stay juicy; it worked grea with lots of good feedback on the juicy chicken, but this made the skin unable to brown as well. Fresh oregano can be astringent, so I subbed basil for the crowd. I will make it with oregano for myself!

I made it with chicken breast instead and immersion blended the garlic oil/raisins/stock and it was great!

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